Police turn to public for information on suspect vehicle

LONGMONT -- Police are urging anyone with information about a hit-and-run that occurred on Main Street shortly after 10 p.m. New Year's Eve to contact them. The hit-and-run left a 16-year-old boy dead.

The boy, identified by family and friends as Denver resident Jason Grimmer, was struck by a car in the southbound lanes of the 2200 block of Main Street. Police are looking for a vehicle of unknown make and color and are seeking witnesses. Officers initially were looking for a light-colored Chevrolet van. They found the van but now believe it was probably not involved in the hit-and-run. Police do not yet have identifying information for the suspect vehicle and are turning to the public for help.

Jason Grimmer
(Lewis Geyer/Times-Call)

They are particularly interested in speaking with anyone who was at a nearby Pizza Hut between about 9 and 10:15 p.m. Monday.

Officers responded to the area after receiving reports of a fight between a group of white males and a group of black males.

"There is the appearance that this may have been racially motivated," said Longmont Police Cmdr. Jeff Satur. "Some comments were exchanged" between the groups, he said.

Grimmer was running from the fight when he was struck by a vehicle heading south on Main Street, according to reports. An officer at the scene reported that he had suffered "massive head trauma." His white tennis shoes and red Chicago Bulls cap remained in the street after the incident.

About 50 people gathered Tuesday night in the bitter cold at the scene of the hit-and-run to remember Grimmer. Among them was a man who identified himself as Grimmer's grandfather but declined to give his name. He said Grimmer was living with his mother in Denver and used to attend Longmont High School.

Friends created a memorial at the site. It included a picture of Grimmer, flowers, candles and book for attendees to sign. Derek Baringa, a friend of Grimmer, read Psalm 25.

"Jason was an amazing person," Baringa said, adding that there were many people who cared about him who couldn't make it to the gathering.

Another attendee, Susan Southern, said Grimmer was friends with her sons.

"He was a respectful kid," she said.

Officers on Tuesday interviewed most of the people involved in the fight, Satur said. Fewer than a dozen people, mostly from Longmont, were involved, and, besides Grimmer, they ranged in age from 17 to 31, Satur said. Grimmer was the youngest of those involved. It appears the driver of the suspect vehicle was not connected to the fight, Satur said.